Daniel 5 Footnotes

5:1 Until the latter half of the nineteenth century, Belshazzar’s name was unattested except for the book of Daniel and works dependent on it (Baruch, Josephus). From other sources Nabonidus was known to have been the last king of Babylon, and some critics declared Belshazzar to be fictional. However, during the past 150 years abundant evidence has come to light (at least thirtyseven archival texts) demonstrating that Belshazzar was a real person, the son of Nabonidus and ruler of Babylon during his father’s extended absences.

5:7 The fact that Belshazzar could offer only the “third highest position in the kingdom” (vv. 16,29) is evidence that the author of Daniel had accurate knowledge of Nabonidus. Nabonidus was first in rank, followed by his son Belshazzar and then the decipherer of the handwriting would be third in rank.

5:30 Xenophon mentions that Babylon’s Medo-Persian invaders “avenged themselves upon the wicked king” (Cyropaedia 7.5.32), meaning they executed Belshazzar.

5:31 According to the Nabonidus Chronicle, Babylon fell to the Medo-Persians on the sixteenth of the month Tishri, in the autumn of 539 BC. The Greek historians Herodotus and Xenophon supply fascinating details about Babylon’s fall. The Nabonidus Chronicle and the Cyrus Cylinder both agree with Daniel that Babylon was captured without a major battle and that the citizens readily accepted Persian rule (6:1-3).